With these words, the entire family was shocked.
The village chief was even more incredulous.
He had only offered a few words of persuasion, never expecting Madam Gu to actually accept them.
Granny Hu, her tears ceasing, smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared.
She crawled to Madam Gu and kowtowed repeatedly, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Gu, for your great kindness and righteousness in taking them in as maids."
"If Huaihua and Xier are disobedient, Sister-in-law Gu, please discipline them harshly, do not go easy on them!"
Little Xi Tian: "......"
This old woman, having achieved her goal, immediately changed her tune.
She had been crying her eyes out moments ago, and now she was beaming with joy and couldn't contain her happiness...
Madam Gu's gaze was sharp, her expression stern, "Remember this, Huaihua and Xier are merely maids in our household."
"If they dare to do anything out of line, I can dismiss them at any time."
"We are people who eke out a living from the soil. Farming, watering, harvesting grain, chopping wood, cooking, washing dishes, feeding pigs – every task must be taken up and put down with equal resolve!"
"If they cannot even do these things well, then I advise you to take your daughters back!"
Farm work is varied, requiring one to rise at four or five in the morning to get busy.
Feeding pigs and chickens, chopping wood, sweeping the yard, tending the stove, kneading dough, and so on.
Especially for women.
They must cook for the entire family, managing all their food and daily needs.
Though it might seem light, when the family is large, it is far busier than carrying a hoe to the fields.
Granny Hu quickly nodded, "Sister-in-law Gu is right, Huaihua and Xier can do these basic farm chores."
No matter what, she would agree first...
While Old Man Yun appeared to be the head of the Yun family, Madam Gu was the true manager.
As long as she was appeased, things would be settled.
Madam Gu gestured with her chin towards the silk cloth on the ground, "Take this cloth back and make a few outfits."
"If you cannot use it, you can also take it to the county town to sell and earn some money to supplement your household expenses!"
Granny Hu was overjoyed.
"Sister-in-law Gu is truly generous, then I won't be polite!"
She took the silk cloth and left with a stack of flatbreads.
Thus, the Old Yun family gained two maids.
One older, one younger.
The older one was nineteen this year, and the younger one was thirteen.
Once this news spread, it caused a stir in Dashui Village.
A group of people sat under the large willow tree at the village entrance.
After tea and dinner, it was time for entertainment and gossip.
"It's so good, if my family had two pretty maids, I could sleep soundly every day and be happy..."
"That would be great, you're a bachelor, of course, you'd be happy and at ease!"
"The Old Yun family has more men than women, if there's a spark, it won't be a joke."
"That's right, Second Man's wife is so shrewish, if Second Man can't control himself, wouldn't Liu Cuirong grab a knife and chop them?"
"What are you all babbling about? Since they dared to take them, they have a way to control them!"
"......"
The villagers chattered on, and time flew by until it was dark.
The Yun family mansion.
The entire family sat in the main hall waiting for dinner.
Zhao Guihua, for the first time, did not cook, enjoying the feeling of being served.
Liu Cuirong's expression was sour.
She stared intently at Yun Erman, afraid he would go to the kitchen to help.
"I'm telling you, if you dare to look at those two vixen eyes, I'll gouge your eyes out!"
Liu Cuirong threatened.
Yun Erman was instantly angered, "Stop your nonsense, when did I look at them?"
"And, you follow me even when I go to the outhouse, I think you're bewitched!"
Liu Cuirong rolled her eyes at him.
Could she not follow?
Her husband was a wolf-slaying hero, and how many young women wanted to climb into his bed...
Little Xi Tian sat on a raised stool, looking at her brother and sister-in-law, then at her parents.
Why did she feel like she was about to burst out laughing?
Yun Jinshan said weakly, "Grandpa, Grandma, Xier always follows me secretly, I'm scared!"
"Scared of what? Can she eat you? Useless thing!" Yun Er Tou cursed.
Yun Jinshan shrunk his neck, not daring to speak.
A moment later, Jin Huaihua and Hu Xier entered the main hall with the dishes.
They had prepared four dishes and one soup.
Three stir-fries and one stew.
Stir-fried cabbage, stir-fried eggs, and there were some leftovers from the wolf meat and earth dragon meat.
Jin Huaihua simply mixed the two together and stir-fried a large plate of chili.
Of course, she also prepared Little Xi Tian's steamed egg custard.
Golden and soft, sprinkled with a few chopped scallions.
The stew was cabbage and radish, paired with a pot of persimmon soup.
The sorghum rice was also served, steamed to perfection.
Little Xi Tian's eyes lit up, her expression filled with surprise.
She hadn't expected Jin Huaihua's cooking to be so good.
It was on par with her elder sister-in-law.
Yun Erman stood up, intending to serve the rice.
Jin Huaihua quickly rushed forward, gesturing with 'ah ah' sounds.
Liu Cuirong was so angry she threw her chopsticks, "Hmph, what are you ah-ah-ing about? My husband can serve himself!"
Madam Gu's cold eyebrows shot up, "Second daughter-in-law, if you're not eating, go into the house, don't disturb others!"
Liu Cuirong was so angry she almost died on the spot.
She glared fiercely at Jin Huaihua and Hu Xier, and stormed back into her room.
In all these years, this was the first time she had refused to eat dinner out of anger.
Under normal circumstances, with such a sumptuous meal, she would have eaten at least two large bowls.
Jin Huaihua lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
She couldn't speak, and all her grievances turned into tears, letting them slide down her cheeks...
Hu Xier, looking terrified, apologized to Yun Erman, "Second... Second Young Master, if you don't like us serving the rice, then, then we won't serve it in the future!"
Second Young Master?
Who taught her that title?
Little Xi Tian was very curious.
Yun Erman gave a dry laugh, "It's fine, don't pay attention to that crazy woman!"
What a wasteful woman, purely bored and restless.
Dinner ended in an awkward and somber atmosphere.
Jin Huaihua and Hu Xier lived in the east wing room.
Kong Xingzhuo had stayed here before.
The sisters-in-law were indeed diligent.
Washing dishes and tending the stove, before Zhao Guihua could even reach for them, they had finished all the chores.
Jin Huaihua also thoughtfully made a bowl of hot noodle soup for Liu Cuirong.
To her surprise, Liu Cuirong threw out the bowl and noodles.
"You mute, stop trying to bribe me, I don't fall for this!"
She felt that her mother-in-law had deliberately kept them to anger her.
Erman was in the prime of his youth, and if he spent all day exchanging glances with that vixen, what good would come of it?
"Learn from your elder sister-in-law, not arguing, not making noise, just being quiet. It's so good."
"You're always thinking about useless things, aren't you tired?"
Distant sounds of arguments could be heard from the east wing room.
Faint sobs and sniffles could also be heard from the east ear room.
In fact, Zhao Guihua also felt a knot in her heart.
She was just gentle by nature and didn't want to show it...
In the main room.
Old Man Yun tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He turned over and nudged Madam Gu, "Old woman, are you asleep?"
Madam Gu's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she opened her eyes, "Not yet!"
She had things on her mind and couldn't sleep well.
Old Man Yun sat up, lit a pipe of dried tobacco, and took a few puffs.
"Old woman, why did you take them in?"
He had pondered this question all night and finally managed to ask it now...